"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Kim sat up gasping for air, sweating vigorously. She had just woken up from a terrible dream. A dream which she could vaguely remember. It wasn't clear to Kim what had happened, all she could feel was fear and pain. It was surreal to be waking up. She felt like she almost died...

***

It had been a week since her encounter with the unknown stranger, Mr. Gerald Anderson. She had not taken the initiative to be in contact with him since he gave her his calling card. Everyday, it lingered in her mind whether or not she should call him. She felt a pang of guilt not being able to reciprocate his kind intentions of helping her. After their short encounter, she had arrived at the party only a few minutes late. Luck as some may say, her tyre didn't give out on her. She aired it as soon as she came across a gas station and double checked before driving ever since. Kim still remembers how this Gerald Anderson looks like. How he smiled. How he sounded like. Even his scent. It felt as if she had this broken record playing endlessly.

Kim turned around to grab some tissues on her bedside table, looking at the time and saw that it was already 9.30 AM. Lucky for her, it was a Saturday and work did not come across. Lazily getting up, Kim headed for the shower. It took her almost an hour, trying to decide to call this man. She questioned herself as to why she's been so hesitant with calling him. It wasn't as if he was going to attack her. He was kind. He was nice. He was-- she stopped thinking about him too much, well at least tried to. Not wanting to prolong it any longer, she got out of the shower, dried-off, changed and searched for his card. She dialled the number and it took a couple of rings.

Two more Kim, if he doesn't pick-up; let it be...

One.

"Hello? Gerald Anderson speaking."

Too formal. She thought. He had the same, gentle voice she remembered. Puff. Puff. Puff. It sounded like he was running.

"Ha-hi. Mr. Anderson. This is Kim. Kimberly. I'm the um, woman you, ah, helped out with the flat tyre?" She didn't know how to speak to him. She realised they never even introduced each other.

"Hi! Ah yes Kim. Kimberly. I thought I'd never hear from you... It's been a week you know." He laughed.

Oh, that laugh.

"Ah, yeah. I'm sorry. I thought I'd misplaced your card. I just came across it in my purse." She lied. Truth was, she's been staring at it. Day in, day out.

"Hm, that's alright. So does this mean the ice-cream is up for grabs? I sure as hell need it. I've been running you know. It's hot. The heat is terrible. A cold substance would really help." He reminded her.

She smiled. He was so sweet. He didn't even sound arrogant or cocky.

"Oh yes, about that. I mean if you weren't busy. Or if you had something else planned. It's really up to you. I just thought I'd return the favour."

"The Loft, 11.30."

"Today?" Kim was surprised.

"You had something else planned?"

"Alright alright. See you then Mr. Anderson."

"Don't keep me waiting. The heat, remember." Then he hung up.

Kim rushed to fix herself up. She didn't know whether or not what she was wearing was okay but it would suffice. After all they were only going out for ice cream. The Loft wasn't far from her apartment so she chose to walk. A little physical activity won't hurt. Kim thought. It was her favourite place to eat a quick snack. They made the best wraps. They were also one of the rare cafes that sold Ben and Jerry's. The classic. Walking towards the cafe, she looked around for Gerald Anderson. There were only a few people inside. An old man reading a newspaper and eating a sandwich. A lady with two toddlers playing with their food. A couple of teenagers fussing about their homework. Kim turned around and in the corner, there sat a man. He was wearing a grey shirt, clean shaven, reading a car magazine.

"Excuse me. Mr. Anderson? Hello, I'm Kim. Kimberly Chiu. Pleasure to meet you." She extended for a hand shake.

He rested the magazine on the table and stood up, extended his hand to meet hers.

"Hi Kim. Pleasure's mine." He smiled, pulling out a chair for Kim to sit on.

"Thank you." Kim sat. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting, I think I'm on time. Right?" Kim placed her hand bag.

"Oh, no not at all. I just came from home to shower after my morning run. Listen, do you mind if we grab a bite to eat first? I'm famished. I haven't had breakfast."

"That makes the two of us. I kind of woke up late." She laughed.

After their meal, the waitress walked over with the bill. Kim and Gerald both reached for it and their hands touched. Kim flinched again. She made a mental note to control her body language if these things happen. It was embarrassing for her to seem like she had a tick on her body. Gerald insisted on paying for their meal.

"Mr. Anderson, please let me. We had a deal." Kim urged.

"Please call me Gerald. And no. I said 'ice cream' not a full brunch menu. Plus I think it would be un-noble to let the woman pay on a first date. Don't you?" He had a point.

A date? Did he just call this a date? Kim simply saw this as a meeting. A meeting for her to pay back the kindness he had offered. He was much too kind to insist on paying.

"Gerald please..." Kim insisted but there was no point fighting against it. Gerald had already placed his credit card and signalled the waitress it was okay.

Kim sighed in surrender.

"Fine. Dibs on paying for the tip and ice cream. If you think otherwise, I'm walking away." She dared him.

"Deal." He smiled.

Afterwards, Kim and Gerald ate their ice cream and went for a walk down the street. They had a small talk about Kim's car, Gerald's busy work schedule and little things they learnt about each other. Amidst the heat, they decided to walk for a little while, to digest the amount of food they had just consumed. After a little more talking, Kim said she had to go and needed to run some errands she forgot about. Gerald insisted that he would drive her back as it was getting way too hot and Kim would probably suffer from heat . It was no more than a ten-minute drive back to her apartment.

"Well, this is me." Kim said as Gerald parked the car. "If you would like to come in, for a cold drink or something?"

"That would be lovely but I have to drop by at the office to fix up some paperwork. Perhaps another time." Gerald smiled, Kim nodded, understanding.

"Again, thank you so much for helping me last time. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be MIA at the party." She laughed.

"Not a problem. We should do this again. You have my number, so if you need anything. I'm a phone call away." He brought his hand to his ear, motioning a telephone.

"Sure, and I will. Here's mine if you need anything. The least I can do is change your flat tyre too. If in any cases, it happens." She joked, handing over her details.

"Thank you Kim, but I think the ice cream was perfect. Until next time." He got up to open her door.

Kim stepped out, waved a last goodbye and headed upstairs. As Gerald drove off he noticed that she had forgotten her sunglasses in his car. He smiled knowing there was another reason for them to see each other...